


Even Kittens have Claws

by signpainter1



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Ash Lynx Needs A Hug, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective Ash Lynx, Protective Eiji
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:08:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26775622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/signpainter1/pseuds/signpainter1
Summary: Ash sat back in his seat trying, to calm his nerves. He had a meeting with a dealer in ten minutes. His last weapons dealer disappeared and he needed a new one before their supplies ran out. The problem was that this man was extremely horny and pursed anyone he found interesting. From their last meeting, Ash knew he was interested in him. Usually, this wasn’t a problem. What made him so nervous was that this time the meeting would take place at his apartment.And Eiji was there.OrThe dealer gets too handsy. Eiji is having non of it.
Relationships: Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji
Comments: 7
Kudos: 377





	Even Kittens have Claws

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! First I would like to say that I feel that Eiji might be a little ooc in this story. It's probably because I wrote it at 11:00 at night. This also means that the grammar/spelling might be bad so if there are any mistakes that bother you feel free to point them out.  
> Lastly, I want to mention that there are aspects of assault in this story. It's fairly minor stuff such as touching hands and hair but it's still there.  
> Anyways on to the story!

Ash sat back in his seat trying, to calm his nerves. He had a meeting with a dealer in ten minutes. His last weapons dealer disappeared a month ago, and he needed a new one before their supplies ran out. Although there were other choices, this man was the best. He was part of the Black Knife Society, which allowed him safe passage in and out of New York City without groups being able to stop him. The biggest problem was that this man was extremely horny and pursed anyone he found interesting. From their last meeting, Ash knew he was interested in him. Usually, this wasn’t a problem. Why would Ash care if men were too handsy? After everything that happened to him, his body wasn’t of any importance. What made him so nervous was that this time the meeting would take place at his apartment.

And Eiji was there.

The last thing Ash wanted Eiji to see another man all over him. It could hurt or disgust the Japanese. It wasn’t like Eiji didn’t know Ash’s past, but there was a difference between hearing about it and seeing it. Ash didn’t want Eiji to view him differently. It would break him completely if Eiji realized that Ash was a mess of a human being.

Things had been going well for them. Two months ago on Eiji’s 20th birthday, Ash asked him out. They had been going steady since then. Life had been almost perfect these last two months. Yes, Ash still had to fight and lead his gang, but he knew that when he got home, all that would disappear. It would just be him and Eiji in their apartment. With that thought in mind, Ash found he could tolerate the horrors in his life. The biggest problem was that after two months the rose tented glasses started going away. Ash knew that their relationship would end when Eiji finally Ash for what he was, a broken used piece of trash. Ash didn’t want to hurry the prosses by having Eiji see Ash being objectized.

“Hey, Ash.” Eiji stuck his head around the corner. “Dinner’s almost ready. Did you want me to make dessert as well?”

“Yeah.” Ash tried to sound calm and unconcerned. “That would be great thanks.” Eiji didn’t seem to pick up on Ash’s emotions because he gave a cheerful nodded and ducked back into the kitchen. Ash let out a long breath. Usually, he didn’t like it when Eiji cooked and served meals to guests. It made him look to much like a maid or housekeeper. Ash had to clear up a few misunderstandings with some of his guests who thought they could boss around Eiji. This time, however, Ash wanted Eiji busy. The less time Eiji spent away from the living room the better. Ash didn’t want him to witness something unpleasant.

A sudden knock on the door brought Ash back to reality. As he stood up, Eiji hurried by and opened the door. Outside stood the dealer wearing a sleazy jacket with a golden chain around his neck.

“You must be our guest.” Eiji smiled politely at him. The dealer ran his eyes over Eiji for a moment before deeming him unworthy of his attention. He looked over Eiji’s shoulder at Ash and his eyes lit up.

“Ash Lynx.” He stepped around Eiji and walked over to Ash. “It’s so nice to see you again.” If any of Ash’s men had ignored Eiji like that he would have been furious. For this man, however, Ash was relieved. If he didn’t find Eiji interesting, then he would leave him alone. Ash had been slightly worried that the dealer was going to try to hit on Eiji.

As the dealer reached Ash, Eiji closed the door and followed him to the couch. His boyfriend wore a slight frown, clearly unsure what to make of the man. The dealer held out his hand and Ash took it. The handshake went too long and was too firm. Ash didn’t show any discomfort, nor did he try to pull away early. He didn’t want the man to think that he was nervous or trying to get away from him. That sort of behavior would only lead the dealer to try to pursuing Ash harder.

“Come have a seat.” Ash sat down on the couch. He glanced over at Eiji and shot him an apologetic look. “Could you bring us some tea?” Eiji hesitated, still looking unsure, then he nodded and left the room. Ash watched him go. Once Eiji was safely out of sight Ash turned back to the man. As long as Eiji didn’t see anything it matter anymore what happened to him.

“I looked over your deal and I want to make some altercations.” Ash slid the documents forward on the low living room table. “According to the deal, only I can pick up the weapons. This doesn’t work. I want _any_ of my men to be able to pick up the weapons needed, not just me.”

“Ahh, but Ash.” The man said smoothly slinking over his hand to where Ash’s was. “I want to see you more.” Ash kept his face natural as the man’s warm hands touched his. It didn’t surprise him how fact that dealer acted. He wasn’t good at subtlety. When he wanted something, he went for it.

“I’m fighting a war against the mafia; I can’t make any deal that will endanger my men or myself.” Out of the corner of his eyes, Ash saw Eiji enter the room again with a tray of tea. His heart started pounding. Why couldn’t Eiji wait a few more minutes? By then Ash would have found a way to get the man’s hands away from him. He wanted to tell Eiji to leave but then Eiji would know something was wrong. Ash didn’t want him to worry.

“You’re taking the fun out of this.” the dealer pouted his hand tightening on Ash’s. “I bet we could find a way to.” He ran a finger up Ash’s thumb. “compromise.”

Before Ash had time to say anything there was a small “op” and a cup of tea fell on the dealer. The man hissed in pain as the hot liquid spilled on his shirt and pants. The hand that was touching Ash’s disappeared.

“What the hell.” The dealer roared.

“Sorry I tripped,” Eiji said his voice trembling a little. Ash turned to him to tell him it was alright, then froze in surprise. Contrary to Eiji’s apologies his face showed no remorse. Matter of fact he looked angry. His eyes were hard as stone and his jaw was clenched. He looked over at Ash and forced a smile that somehow made him look angrier.

“I’ll go see if there are any spare clothes upstairs.” He turned to the dealer. “My boyfriend sometimes stretches out his clothes during gang fights. I’m sure I’ll find something in your size.” Then without another word Eiji spun on his heels and stormed out of the room. The dealer watched him leave an annoyed expression on his face. He picked up the teacup from his lap and set it on the table.

“You must have a handful with that one.” He grumbled. Ash clenched his fists but held his tongue. It wouldn’t do any good to let this man know that insulting Eiji got to him. It would only be used against him.

“He’s not usually clumsy.” Ash finally said tonelessly. Eiji had never split tea on anyone before. Ash wondered if the shock of seeing the man try to make a move on him had caused Eiji to trip. Ash’s heart clenched. He wondered what Eiji thought of him now. He didn’t have time to dwell on his boyfriend. The dealer had turned his attention back to Ash and continued speaking,

“Anyways, my comment still stands. I would rather you come instead of your men.”

“I will not endanger my men.” Ash’s eyes flashed. “I will come if I can make it but if I can’t you will hand over the supplies to my men or we do not have a deal.” The dealer surveyed him for a minute. Ash knew he won this round. It was to early in the game for the dealer to back out. He wanted to sell to Ash and his gang for the publicity. It would make him look good to be the main supplier of Ash Lynx.

“Very well.” The dealer nodded curtly. “As long as you make an appearance one a month, we’re good.” Ash nodded back. “Now on to the second line of business. The payment you suggested is too low. I need to make a profit off of this.”

“Funny, because I believe I’m being generous.” Ash’s eyes narrowed. The man looked taken aback.

“Excuse me?” He growled.

“I’m fighting the mafia as well as many other gangs. Do you expect me to waste all my money on your second-rate weapons?” Ash scoffed. “There are other suppliers who could cut me a better deal.” The dealer looked at him for a second before his eyes flashed in excitement.

“My you’re a hard one to please.” The hand was back. It slinked across the table and touched Ash’s wrist. “I can see why so many people fear you.” The man ran his thumb in a circle on Ash’s wrist. “Your words are sharp, and your eyes are as cold as ice.” Ash didn’t react. He continued to stare uncaringly into the man’s lustful eyes.

WHAM

A basket full of clothes slammed down in between them right on top of the dealer’s outstretched arm. He gave a cry of pain and wrenched it back, holding it to his chest. Ash looked over to where Eiji was standing behind the basket.

“You little-” the dealer started. Eiji looked over at him.

“Oh sorry did it land on your arm?” he asked coolly. “My bad.” He reached into the basket and flung torn-up shirt and trousers at him. “You can change into these. I’m going to finish dinner.” Eiji straighten up and carried the basket from the room. The man spluttered in protest for a few seconds clearly wanting to follow Eiji. Finally, he grabbed the clothes and march into the bathroom.

Now that Ash was alone, he had time to think things over. He relaxed a little on the couch and crossed his arms. There was no way Eiji didn’t see the man’s arm there. That meant Eiji had hit his arm on purpose. This wasn’t like Eiji. He wasn’t a violent person. He was soft and kind to most people who entered their apartment, even if they didn’t deserve it. Why would Eiji act this aggressive towards the dealer?

 _“Is he trying to protect me?”_ Ash’s heart fluttered at the thought. Eiji, who usually was the definition of hospitality, was acting this way because he saw Ash was in danger. That meant Eiji wasn’t disgusted with him. Ash took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. As nice as a thought that was it still didn’t make sense. Eiji knew Ash’s past. He was tainted. One more person’s hands weren’t going to make him any dirtier than he already was. It seemed like a lot of work to protect him from the dealer. He wanted to explain that to Eiji.

Before he could get up, however, the dealer reentered the room. The clothes that Eiji gave him were far too small and had holes in unusual places. A funky smell was coming from them as well. Ash wondered if Eiji had found the most disgusting piece of clothing in the apartment.

“Where were we.” The man sat down “Ah yes, you were saying the price was too high.” He frowned. “I disagree, I’m risking my neck getting you the supplies.”

“Hardly,” Ash smirked. “Or are you no longer under the protection of The Black Knife Society?” Ash cocked his head. “I must be misinformed.” The dealer's eyes narrowed.

“I see you did your research,” he crossed his arms. “Very well I’ll bring it down a couple hundred.”

“You’ll need to do better than that.” Ash scoffed.

“You are making this difficult.” The man paused then smiled hungrily. “Of course I guess I can arrange to bring the payment down but I’ll need payment another way.” He reached forward and ran a hand through Ash’s hair. “I can think of a couple of ways you could pay me.” Out of the corner of his eye, Ash saw Eiji enter the room with a tray of food. For a second Ash thought Eiji was going to dump the tray on the dealer's head. Instead, Eiji ignored them and approached the table.

“Tell me Ash Lynx what do you have to offer?” the dealer cooed as he wrapped a strand of Ash’s hair around his finger. Eiji bent down next to Ash and calmly placed the food dishes on the table. Then he straightened up and said.

“There’s a bug on you.” Before the dealer could react Eiji swung the tray at the dealer’s head. A loud ringing sound rang out as the tray collided with the man’s skull. The dealer roared in pain as he fell out of his seat, knocking his teacup over in the process. He landed on the ground with a thump as the teacup shattered. Eiji looked uncaring over at him.

“Oh, it’ still there.” He slammed the tray down again. “You have to be careful; mosquitoes carry all sorts of diseases.” He glanced over at the smashed teacup and looked at Ash. “Sorry about that. I’ll go clean this up.”

The dealer shakily got to his feet and glared as Eiji left the room. For a second Ash thought he was going to go after him. Then the moment passed, and the dealer let out a long angry breath.

“Your boyfriend has serious issues.” He sat back down on the couch. “He thinks he can get away with anything….” He glared at the door. “You need to discipline him better. He should know his place.” It took everything in Ash not to hit the man. How dare he treat Eiji like an untrained animal. How dare he think Eiji needed to know his place.

After a few seconds of fighting, he got his emotions under control. Ash just needed to hang on for a couple more minutes. Once the deal was made, he would leave and never bother Eiji again. That didn’t make the comment disappeared, but Ash tried to convince himself that the dealer said that due to his pain and not out of any real anger towards Eiji. It was a weak argument, but it helped him keep his head in the game.

“You said you could be persuaded.” Ash rested his head on his chin. “How about this, if we find any extra weapons in any of our rival gang’s bases, we’ll hand them over to you. You’ll be able to sell them again to other groups.” The dealer growled and Ash enjoyed the moment of triumph. They both knew what the dealer meant by “persuasion” but by playing dumb Ash had forced the man to spell it out. If it was Ash who suggested it the man could take up the offer but if the dealer who had to say it, Ash could decline.

“You are impossible to work with you know that.” The dealer reached forward and grabbed Ash’s shoulders. “But it makes me want you more.” He licked his lips and took Ash’s chin. Ash fought down the urge to pull away. Once again, this man showed that he had no self-control nor subtlety. The dealer lifted Ash’s chin and moved forward.

“That’s it!” Eiji had apparently entered the room again. The man’s face disappeared as a broom shot between them. “Out! Get out of my apartment!” Eiji swung again and the man fell backward, his face scrapped up from the broom’s bristles.

“Keep your hands off my boyfriend! How many warnings do I have to give you?” Eiji yelled as he wacked the dealer around the head. Ash knew he should probably step in and stop him, but he couldn’t move. The whole scene was so bizarre. There was kind, gentle Eiji, dressed in his casual home clothes and wearing a blue apron with the words “Kiss the Cook” across it, wielding a broom as if it was a terrifying weapon. He looked like a pissed off housewife who learned her husband was cheating on her.

The scene only lasted for a minute. The dealer, getting is bearings, grabbed the broom and wrenched it out of Eiji’s hands. Eiji staged forward as the dealer got up.

“You brat.” He snarled. “Know your place!” He swung his hand and hit Eiji across the face. The force of the blow knocked Eiji to the ground.

The dealer had gone too far.

The man looked up from where he was sprawled on the ground. A gun was inches from his face. He stared at Ash confusion and fear emanating from him.

“W-what?”

“You touched Eiji,” Ash whispered eyes dancing with flames. “You insulted him and then you raised a hand against him.”

“You’re joking right?” The dealer stared up at him. “Do you expect me to just let him hit me?”

“Of course,” Ash said coolly. “The same way I let you touch me. I don’t care where you put your hands on me but the second you laid one of your filthy hands on Eiji you lost all privileges.” He shoved the gun against the man’s forehead. “It’s too bad you didn’t know your place.”

“This is how you treat your dealers?” the man yelled. “The deal’s off!”

“The deal was off the second you touched Eiji.” Ash bent down low and gave a cold smile. “But you shouldn’t worry about the deal right now. You should be more concerned that you won’t be walking out of this room alive.” All the color left the man’s face.

“You aren’t really going to shoot.” Ash stared blankly at him. the man’s eyes widened.

“Don’t…please.” He whispered. “I didn’t mean anything about it. Please.” He threw himself at Ash’s feet. “Don’t kill me.”

Ash pulled away revolted. He wanted so bad to do something horrible to this man, but something was holding him back. He wasn’t sure if it was his conscience or a sense of pity or the fact that Eiji was in the room. Whatever it was Ash knew he wouldn’t be able to pull the trigger.

“Go.” Ash lowered his gun. “And pray that I’ll never run into you again.” With one last whimper, the man took off out of the apartment. Once he was gone Ash turned to Eiji who was gingerly getting off the floor.

“Are you alright?” Ash helped him up scanning for injuries. Other than the bruise on Eiji’s cheek, he also had a bruise on his legs from where he fell. Ash also noticed the tense way Eiji was holding his arm. Ash wondered if he had hit the table while falling.

“That’s not important.” Eiji pulled Ash closer. “Are _you_ alright?” he scanned Ash’s eyes. “Did he touch you anywhere while I was gone? I’m sorry I couldn’t do more. I know you wanted to make a deal with him, so I tried to play them off as mistakes but…” Eiji tightened his grip. “He looked like he was going to kiss you.”

“Eiji you know I’ve been in this situation before.” Ash gave a weak smile. “A little more isn’t going to change anything.”

“Of course it will!” Eiji pulled away looking horrified. “You’re worth more than that!” Eiji’s eyes flashed. “You’re worth everything.” Hot liquid pricked at Ash’s eyes and he tried to look away. How was it that Eiji made him feel clean and treasured even though he knew he was worthless? Somehow, he always felt like a priceless work of art in Eiji’s arms instead of a dented can on the side of the road.

“I don’t understand how you can still feel that way.”

Eiji cupped Ash’s cheek and forced him to look him in the eyes. “Ash, If I could take your pain I would. Since I can’t, the only thing I can do is hold you and try to protect you.” He frowned slightly, “I can’t do much I know but, as long as my heart is beating, I will do my best.”

“Eiji.” Ash ran a finger over the bruise. “Please, I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.” Eiji puffed out his cheeks.

“I’d take hundreds of beatings if it meant you’re safe.” He said softly.

“Don’t say that.” Ash couldn’t fathom the idea of Eiji getting hurt. “And it’s me who should protect you.”

“Well, we’re boyfriend’s now so it’s our jobs to protect each other.” Eiji leaned into Ash. Ash held him close, cuddling into his chest. No words could describe how he felt at that moment. If Eiji created a new universe in his arms, then Ash at the center of it. He felt whole and safe there. Eiji didn’t see him as broken. For some reason, he loved and cherished him. After a while, Eiji pulled away.

“Let’s eat.” He said gesturing at the untouched food. “I spent all day in a kitchen to make this and we shouldn’t let it go to waste.” Ash laughed a little as he joined his boyfriend at the table.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it! Eiji is very dangerous in his element (surrounded by house supplies)  
> Liked it? Hated it? Felt meh about it? Had thoughts about it? Had no option at all? I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to leave a review/Kudos.


End file.
